Midway to cut global workforce by 20%

Nearing the end of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, video-game developer and publisher Midway is set to lay off a significant portion of its global staff. According to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company gave a two-month notification to 60 of its employees under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The employees represent about 20% of Midways workforce and are all located at its Chicago corporate office. The company has two locations in Chicago, one is the corporate headquarters and the other is a development studio. The latter is responsible for producing the Mortal Kombat games and was acquired by Warner Bros. Entertainment when it purchased a majority of Midways US assets for $33 million.

While Warner Bros. has given job offers to the 100 Midway employees at the Chicago studio, those in corporate functions are being cut. The layoffs are expected to take place in early September and include CEO Matthew Booty among other senior execs.